Published: 02/03/2010

The maximum limit for contactless card transactions in the UK has increased from £10 to £15, making paying for small transactions by debit or credit card even easier for millions of customers.

Contactless allows customers to pay for transactions of £15 or less by holding their card over a special reader, without the need to enter a PIN or insert the card into a terminal. The transaction is debited directly from the customer's current account or applied to their credit card account in the same way that a standard card transaction is. The cards still operate as normal debit and credit cards with chip and PIN security and periodically prompt for the PIN to be entered to verify the customer's identity.

Barclays has led the industry with the roll-out of contactless payment technology since Barclaycard introduced the first card in 2007. Barclays VISA debit cards are now issued or reissued with contactless technology built in as standard. More than 2 million contactless-enabled Barclays VISA debit cards and 4 million contactless Barclaycard credit cards have been issued.

Brian Cunnington, Head of Debit Cards for Barclays, said: “The new higher limit gives customers the flexibility of paying for even more transactions quickly, securely and conveniently via a contactless card payment and will lead to more retailers implementing the technology."